Welcome to Episode 141 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode we begin a new triptych of shows with our reader response to Helene Wecker‘s extraordinary The Golem and the Jinni. Along with Paul Weimer (of SF Signal and Skiffy and Fanty fame), we talk about the incredible worldbuilding in the book, the way even side characters are fully realized, and how the turn of the century New York flavor really draws the reader into the tale–along with the ways the two main characters play off each other. As you’ll be able to tell, we’re all big fans of the book, and we were glad to have Paul join us to talk about it. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll have Helene Wecker herself to chat about the book. And if you haven’t already, please check out our Patreon and consider becoming a patron so we can continue to bring you analysis of the best authors, editors and artists in speculative fiction. Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 117 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode, simultaneously run on two other podcasts, we talk about the medium and message as we chat with authors and podcasters Patrick Hester (of the Hugo award-winning SF Signal podcast and the Functional Nerds podcast) and Anton Strout (of The Once and Future Podcast) about podcasting, writing, and everything in between. We talk about what we’ve learned from the experience, what we’ve been most inspired by in the interviews we’ve conducted, and why Lion Voltron is obviously better than Auto Voltron (no idea why this was even a question, frankly). This is the first time we’ve really had the chance to talk about this particular media, and almost four full years into production we decided there was no reason to wait any longer–the result was a fun and wide-ranging discussion, and we hope to do it again in the future. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next episode when we’ll begin a new triptych of shows on the work of Lev Grossman. And if you haven’t already, please check out our Patreon; for a small pledge you can both support the show and get even more content, and we really appreciate everyone who has become a patron so far. Until next time, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word!

Welcome back for Episode 48 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode we conclude our series of shows on the work of Ian McDonald with a look at a few of the specific writing techniques used in The Dervish House, particularly his approach to cinematic writing, evoking all the senses, worldbuilding and atmosphere, using contrasting characters and points of view to establish a (reasonably) objective truth, and not being afraid of science–or even educated guesses about what science might reveal in the future–in writing science fiction. If you enjoy what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our series of short interviews from Origins 2012. Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

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